Global X Canada Preferred ETF Starts Trading Today

Global X, the New York-based ETF issuer with over $1.8 billion in assets under management, is continuing what can only be considered a torrid pace of new product introductions in 2011 with the debut of the Global X Canada Preferred ETF

today. The introduction of CNPF marks the 17th new ETF issued by Global X this year and the 32nd fund to join the firm's lineup. CNPF is also the first ETF offering investors exposure to Canadian preferred stocks. The 58-stock ETF features an expense ratio of 0.58%. The fund will track the Solactive Canada Preferred Index. As is the case with ETFs tracking preferred issues from U.S.-based companies, CNPF is heavily concentrated in the financial services sector with an allocation of 73.15% to that group. Energy and telecom names combine for about 17% of CNPF's weight. The top-10 holdings are fairly evenly spread out with weights ranging from 2.19% to 3.3%. Preferred shares of TransCanada

are the largest individual holding in CNPF. Preferred issues from Royal Bank of Canda

, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

and Toronto Dominion

each appear twice among CNPF's top-10 holdings. “CNPF provides a relatively efficient way for investors to reap the benefits of this hybrid asset class as well as receive international exposure via the Canadian issuers traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange,” Global X CEO Bruno del Ama said in a statement. The Global X Canada Preferred ETF will be the fifth Canada-specifc ETF available to U.S. investors joining the iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund

, the Guggenheim Canadian Energy Income ETF

, the IQ Canada Small Cap ETF

and the Global X S&P/TSX Venture 30 Canada ETF

, which Global X rolled out earlier this year. CNPF is the fifth ETF introduced by Global X this month.